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“How much of your bike repairs/maintenance do you do yourself?”
I answered the question with:” Ido all of my own repairs/maintenance”. There is more to that answer. If there was a shop that was willing to provide timely, quality, in-depth repair and maintenance, I would have that shop do 90% of my bicycle work.
I live in an area that has a number of bicycle shops, some selling expensive bicycles. However, there are few, if any, that actually do in-depth repair and maintenance at the shop. They normally do not keep more than a minor supply of parts at the shop, or have mechanics that are equipped, qualified, or are interested (sometimes there is mechanic interest that is blocked by the shop). Furthermore, work tends to happen on the bike shop’s schedule, not the customer’s. To be fair, there are shop-centric reasons for these policies, but such reasoning may at times, be part of the problem.
Bicycling, for me, is not a casual recreational activity. My repair needs are important matters that are also controlled by time boundaries. Regular maintenance and repairs need to be done in a manner that allows me to keep my riding schedule (three days per week). Also, occasionally, when something unexpectedly fails, a timely “emergency” repair is needed. As a result, I’ve found it necessary to keep a supply of parts available and learn to do my own maintained and repair. As a comment, I’ve found that even the most complicated repairs (rebuilding my Campagnolo shifters) can usually be accomplished in a couple of hours. I would, however, rather have my bike professionally maintained at a local shop.
There is a larger multi-faceted discussion that can develop from this subject, but I will leave that for another time.
Happy cycling.

I have taught myself over the winters to do most of my own repairs, sans hubs, BB and drivetrain replacement. I have had many very unsatisfactory experiences using my local bike shop (as has a friend I sent there), and keep going further and further to find a shop I like and can trust (without as much success as I would like). I would love to support any local bike shop and let them do my repairs, but not if they do not do good work, charge far more than their quotes for the job, and not listen to what their customers need/want. Fortunately I am somewhat mechanically inclined and have taught myself successfully. The bigger issue is why our local shops are not upleveling their support/experience to keep our bikes running smoothly. (And then I hear stories of them not having enough business and almost going under). It’s just an unfortunate situation that I hope could change if it was brought to more light. But for now, I,m on my own, with good success, and a solid body of knowledge! Keep cranking….

It sounds like you both are in a similar situation. I find that strange, honestly. I would think a bike shop would love the “stickiness” that doing repairs offers. By that I mean creating customer loyalty so that, when it comes time to do a big repair or buy a new bike, you, the customer, will go back to that shop to do it.

I totally agree with you, too, Rah, that shops would be well-served to consider the type of cyclist seeking the repair. They should know that serious roadies don’t like to miss any planned rides and try to keep to a regular schedule — whereas many “weekend” cyclists don’t much mind missing any time on the bike.

I’ve always throught folks like you and me wouldn’t mind “buying our way to the front of the repair queue” for maybe $20 a year. Call it a “repair membership.” Why no LBS that I’m aware of has never tried that is beyond me.

I’m a campy rider, and I’ve found that mechanics who ride Campy fix and adjust it well. The mechs who ride Shimano consistently underwhelm me. At 9000 miles /year for the past 20 years, I’ve come to count on the durability I get from the Campy parts. As my Campy mechanics move on, I’ve taken more and more of the work myself. That includes BB replacement and shifter rebuild and replace.

I do all my own work except for building wheels and aligning things like derailleurs. I don’t have any alignment tools. I true my own wheels and replace spokes, but that’s all. I’ve taught myself after 56 years of post high school racing & riding. and bought tools as I needed them. I’ve also spent some time working in a couple of bike shops as a mechanic.